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Seemingly every offseason, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider says he’d like to draft a quarterback. The lead-up to the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins April 24, is no different. Armed with 10 picks, including five within the top 100 selections, Seattle is in the market for a young quarterback.
Advertisement The Seahawks have drafted only two quarterbacks since Schneider arrived in 2010: Russell Wilson with pick No. 75 in 2012 and Alex McGough with pick No. 220 in 2018.
At the annual league meeting in Florida earlier this month, Schneider was asked whether having a new starting quarterback — as opposed to returning the one from the previous season — makes it easier to draft a rookie. The potential fallout from drafting a quarterback while rostering an already established signal caller hasn’t been an issue, the GM said. “It’s just never fit,” Schneider said, adding that Seattle has attempted to trade up for quarterbacks but “it just hasn’t worked out” because of the asking price.
“You’ve got to be careful not to overpay,” he said. And because the much-needed live reps for young quarterbacks are hard to come by, Schneider said, “We’ve kind of been in this world of, ‘You know what, why don’t we take the guy that’s played and help them get better, compared to a draft guy?’” Seattle has pick Nos. 18, 50, 52, 82 and 92 through the first three rounds.
Even though the team just signed Sam Darnold, who turns 28 in June, to a three-year, $100.5 million contract, any one of its top-100 picks could be used on a quarterback. In 2023, Schneider’s justification for potentially drafting a quarterback early despite investing in Geno Smith was that quarterbacks “don’t grow on trees.
” Two years later, Schneider’s mentality is the same (Darnold’s contract, much like Smith’s in 2023, is fairly noncommittal). Schneider scouted quarterbacks when Wilson was the starter, but the need for a young arm became more urgent when he was traded to the Denver Broncos in a deal that brought Drew Lock to Seattle. These are the quarterbacks Seattle could have selected in the subsequent drafts without trading up, sorted by year with the round listed in parentheses.
Advertisement • 2022: Kenny Pickett (1), Desmond Ridder (3), Malik Willis (3), Matt Corral (3), Bailey Zappe (4), Sam Howell (5), Chris Oladokun (7), Skylar Thompson (7), Brock Purdy (7) • 2023: Will Levis (2), Hendon Hooker (3), Jake Haener (4), Stetson Bennett (4), Aidan O’Connell (4), Clayton Tune (5), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (5), Sean Clifford (5), Jaren Hall (5), Tanner McKee (6), Max Duggan (7) • 2024: Spencer Rattler (5), Jordan Travis (5), Joe Milton (6), Devin Leary (6), Michael Pratt (7) Purdy is the only proven starter on this list, and many of the others have yet to prove they can be reliable backups. Hall spent last season on Seattle’s practice squad, and Howell has one year and $1.1 million remaining on the contract the Seahawks inherited when they acquired him via trade last spring.
Seattle probably isn’t kicking itself about not spending a pick on anyone listed above (except for perhaps Purdy, though it’s hard to imagine he’d have succeeded to the same degree if drafted by Seattle). The Seahawks might continue to be picky and bypass selecting a quarterback later this month. But knowing Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald would like to acquire one, let’s look at which prospects they should target and when.
Day 1 Although Schneider and others were high on Wilson in 2012, both quarterback selections by the current front office were made with the thought that the team was acquiring a backup. It’s not entirely clear which boxes a prospect would need to check for Seattle to draft a quarterback in the first round, where teams feel they’re acquiring a starter. From a purely physical standpoint, Schneider values arm strength, athleticism, toughness and the ability to throw off-platform and from muddy pockets (character would also be a major part of the evaluation for a first-round QB).
Cam Ward checks those boxes, which is why he’ll likely be the No. 1 pick. Not many of the other prospects check those boxes without at least one very notable drawback.
Advertisement Tyler Shough, for instance, has those qualities, but he’s a one-year starter despite spending seven years in college, and he’s already older than Howell, who turns 25 in September. Seattle’s last two starting quarterbacks made Pro Bowls in their age 32 and 33 seasons, so Shough’s age is not a concern for longevity reasons. But it’s a blemish on his resume because it’s the product of multiple serious injuries in college.
He also has spotty decision-making for a prospect who will be 26 as a rookie. Shedeur Sanders is one of two quarterbacks with a first-round grade in The Beast , the draft guide of The Athletic ’s Dane Brugler (Ward is the other). Jalen Milroe will attend the draft in Green Bay, Wis.
, an indication the former Alabama QB believes he’ll be a first-round pick. Of those two, Sanders is closer to being an NFL starter because of his accuracy, toughness and decision-making. The “point guard” mentality that Darnold described at his introductory news conference aligns with Sanders’ game; he’s a distributor who likes to play on schedule and probably won’t be able to thrive much on extended plays due to marginal athleticism.
If Seattle is set on taking a Round 1 QB — there’s a strong argument against doing that, of course — Sanders should be the pick. Day 2 Brugler lists Shough, Milroe, Jaxson Dart, Quinn Ewers and Kyle McCord with Day 2 grades. A quarterback selection feels more likely here than in the first round, given Seattle’s draft capital in the second and third rounds.
Dart and Shough appear to be the best fit for Seattle’s scheme among the players in this group. Shough is reportedly scheduled to meet with the Seahawks, as is Milroe. Visits are about addressing unanswered questions — whether about medical history, character or something else — and do not necessarily reflect where a prospect falls on a team’s board.
“Bringing them through the building, it’s about more time,” Schneider said Thursday on Seattle Sports radio when asked about the purpose of visits. “We need more answers, or we need more time with this player based on the questions that we need answered in terms of the vision we see for this player, and the fit. It’s separate from how you can acquire the player.
” Seattle’s interest in meeting with Shough is understandable considering what he put on tape in 2024, his first season starting more than seven games. Measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 224 pounds, Shough has good size, is a great athlete and has a better arm than the other quarterbacks projected in this range of the draft. The strong arm gets him into trouble sometimes, but it is easy to see how a team might watch his film and envision, after a couple of years of development, Shough operating a play-action heavy offense while hitting his pass catchers accurately and on time at all three levels of the field.
He possesses many solid tools, including the ability to improvise, which is to be expected of a guy who’s been in college so long that he once shared a position room with Justin Herbert. Advertisement Dart has some of the same traits, specifically athleticism and arm strength, but he’s not a high-level problem solver; his default response when trouble arose seemed to be taking off and running. That’s fine in spurts, but not conducive to sustained success in the NFL.
Milroe is the best athlete in this quarterback class and throws a nice deep ball, but Seattle might have to drastically alter the scheme to maximize what he currently does best, which is run the ball. It’s possible none of the quarterbacks in this group will become a capable starting quarterback, but if Seattle wants to roll the dice, the best option appears to be Shough. Day 3 Seattle has pick Nos.
137, 172, 175, 223 and 234 on the final day of the draft. This is where it would make sense to take a swing on McCord, QB7 in Brugler’s guide with a Round 3/4 grade. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the former Syracuse signal caller is off the board by the time Seattle is on the clock, swooped up by a divisional rival or team led by a former Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan assistant.
McCord is a confident, accurate passer with potential to succeed in a very quarterback-friendly scheme with high-end pass protection. The only other Day 3 prospect worthwhile is Will Howard, QB8 on Brugler’s list with a fourth-round grade. Howard was at his best down the stretch during Ohio State’s run through the College Football Playoff.
Howard (6-4, 236) is a big, athletic quarterback who throws with anticipation and makes plays outside the pocket. A play-action heavy system should serve him well in the NFL. It’s rare for Day 3 draft picks to become starting quarterbacks, but Howard’s ability to move and throw accurately at multiple levels would make him an intriguing backup option in Klint Kubiak’s offense.
(Photos of Shedeur Sanders, left, and Tyler Shough: Ed Zurga / Getty Images, James Black / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).
